(Ottawa) The Federal Court of Appeal finds that Facebook violated Canadian privacy law by failing to adequately inform users of the risks to their data when they signed up to the popular social media platform.
In a new decision, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal unanimously finds that Facebook, now known as Meta, did not obtain the valid consent required by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act between 2013 and 2015.
This appeal decision overturns a 2023 Federal Court judgment.
In the latest decision, the appeals court says Facebook invited millions of apps onto its platform but failed to adequately oversee them.
The Court of Appeal held that the Federal Court’s failure to consider relevant evidence on this point at first instance constituted an error of law.
In a written statement, Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne said the decision “demonstrates that even large international data companies, whose business model is based on user data, must respect Canadian privacy law and protect individuals’ fundamental right to privacy.”